DVD CONTEST: Win Michelle’s Big Mea Culpa DVD Grab Bag!!

Ok, I’ve been very bad over the last two months about getting contests launched on time and the end result is, to clear out my stock I’m going to do a simple DVD Grab Bag.  Two lucky winners will receive the following Four DVDs – Eagle Eye, The Duchess, Ghost Town and Death Race.  How about that for a nice potpourri of couch vegging?  Each of these DVDs are packed with extras – well except Ghost Town and I liked all of these films, even Eagle Eye. which is admittedly terrible but works for me on the small screen. The contest will run February 16, 2009 to Monday March 2, 2009.  On March 2, send me your full name, address; and user id letting me know you would like to win.  Don’t forget you can now follow Eclipse on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eclipsemagazine and on Facebook. Not sure what the URL is for that. To win check out my quick take reviews and synopsis after the break and just leave a comment.

The Duchess DVD

I watched the Blu-ray version of this movie and it is simply gorgeous. The colors really pop off the screen. The problem is Keira Knightley as 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life is just so plastic. I made this point before, Knightley has the “It” factor that makes you want to watch her, but she’s an awful actress. And the fact that she’s paired with Ralph Fiennes doesn’t make it easier on her. As the Duke of Devonshire Fiennes is deadly dull and passionless, which is the point of the character and why Georgiana had to find her amusement in other areas.  The movie is worth watching if you like costumers, and beautiful cinematography. The DVD includes a couple of nice little featurettes including a 30-minute documentary about the real Georgiana.

Eagle Eye

Eagle Eye actually works much better in a home environment than it did for me in the theater. I’m glad I gave it another try, my issues with the film still remain, but it’s more tolerable. You can read my full review of the Blu-ray release http://eclipsemagazine.com/dvd/7981/.  The DVD is really bare bones, just deleted scenes and one 6-minute featurette.

Death Race

I skipped Death Race when it was in the theaters earlier this year, it’s not because I didn’t want to see it, I just ran out of time and these days if you don’t see a film on opening weekend it’s long gone by week two or three. Which is a shame, because after watching it, I’m surprised it didn’t do better. It’s a solid mid-tier action flick, that at times takes itself way to seriously for the material. Jason Statham is actually really good in this and man did he get ripped. At first I thought the muscles on his back were CG.  There’s not a lot of fighting as most of the action takes place in the Death Race a grueling 3 Day Race where prisoners are forced to race to the Death. The big dog in cellblock is Warden Hennessey played with fierceness by Joan Allen. When she struts into the Prison Yard, you see the fear and respect the Prisoners have in her. Director Paul W.S. Anderson really gives this film the grit that it deserves, but like I said, it’s almost too serious, I would have liked a little levity. You can see the full Blu-ray review at http://eclipsemagazine.com/dvd/7521/ . The DVD includes a full commentary track and a couple of featurettes.

Ghost Town

Ricky Gervais is brilliant in Ghost Town, playing an unnervingly rude dentist, Bertram, who dies for a few minutes during surgery and acquires the unwanted ability to see ghosts. Chased throughout Manhattan by a gaggle of restless spirits begging him to take care of their unfinished business on Earth, Bertram turns them all away except Frank (Greg Kinnear). The latter, a rogue who cheated on his archaeologist widow, Gwen (Téa Leoni), wants Bertram to intervene in a romance between Gwen and a starchy activist (Bill Campbell). Misanthropic Bertram has to polish his relationship patter, but ends up sounding a lot like Gervais’ infamous character in the original The Office, unable to complete a sentence without making others uncomfortable.
In time, of course, Bertram falls for the wonderful Gwen, setting up a bunch of overlapping conflicts. Cowritten and directed by David Koepp (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Ghost Town walks a fine line between comic freshness and a story idea with elements that have become overly familiar in movies and on television. Kinnear and Leoni have never been better on screen, but Ghost Town is well worth seeing because no one like Gervais has previously played the hapless hero in a high-concept film such as this one. With Gervais doing his familiar, hilariously discomfiting thing, it really doesn’t matter what kind of movie Ghost Town is. Happily, it’s a pretty good film in every respect.  TPS from Amazon.